Hot pan warmers are used in the food service industry to maintain food temperatures, for example for serving food on a buffet or the like, or to heat food for a buffet. Food pan warmers have typically been used that include dial controls that are analog in nature. Such controls do not allow for precise control of the temperature to which a pan warmer is set, and can easily be bumped or changed without any knowledge of a supervisor or the like. When a pan warmer control of this type is adjusted, the result can be food that is not heated to the proper temperature to prevent spoilage, or if the temperature is too hot, to further or overcooking, as well as potentially serious burns if there is a spill or the like.
The sensors used in typical pan warmers are also not very precise. Typical sensors for water level include float type sensors which are susceptible to unreliability because they can get clogged with deposits from water or the like, and can get bent so as to not accurately maintain a water level, causing intermittent drainage or filling of the water pan, further eroding the accuracy of temperature control methods.
For the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for an improved pan warmer with closer tolerances, an ability to auto detect and fill without problems, and to allow lockout of controls from change.